The one that got away

'Can Barça' probably still has the countless reports it commissioned at one time on Luka Modric, when he was showing a lot of promise at Dinamo Zagreb, earning himself the nickname of the 'Cruyff of the Balkans', and was preparing to make the jump to top level European football.

Former Barça player and current Director of Football for Hajduk Split, Goran Vucevic, used to be an 'Azulgrana' scout in the former Yugoslavia. It was almost 10 years ago when he began to follow the progress of the player who is now Real Madrid's current top performer.

"I joined Barcelona's scouting network at that time and Modric was already attracting attention. We were following a lot of players and he was one of the most important ones being watched worldwide. We were going to see him play for a long time", Vucevic told MARCA on the telephone.

"Barcelona was very interested in him because the way he played fitted with its philosophy. He always liked to have the ball, make passes, move around the field ... He was a very, very complete player. Although he was young, you could already see he was special. He always had a great personality. He was very focussed mentally. He would have been able to adapt to Barça's style without any problem", Goran recalled.

So, why did Luka not end up playing in a Barça shirt? His price tag. "At the time he left Dinamo Zagreb for Tottenham, Barcelona didn't want to enter into the bidding. They thought he was very expensive".